Photo-editing software    
July 02, 2008
Source: google
Chances are you already know about Google's Picasa (picasa.google.com), a free downloadable program ideal for novice users that lets you manage, edit and share your digital photo collection, but there are other free photo programs worth noting.

Adobe (ADBE) has launched Photoshop Express (photoshop.com/express), an intuitive online application allowing you to upload up to 2 gigabytes of photos, make edits and share them via e-mail or social-networking sites, such as Facebook. The Web is a great opportunity for Adobe to bring its digital imaging expertise "to very large, new audiences," says Geoff Baum, director of Photoshop Express at Adobe. The free tool is not intended to replace Adobe's beefier photo-editing packages sold at retail, such as Photoshop Elements or Photoshop CS3, Baum says.

Advanced users seeking free software might consider GIMP (gimp.org), available for Windows, (MSFT) Mac, (AAPL) Linux and other systems. With its customizable interface and powerful editing options, GIMP is ideal for both simple editing tasks, such as retouching, cropping, resizing and conversion, or more sophisticated tasks, including heavy image manipulation and effects.

Word processing, spreadsheets    
July 02, 2008
Source: google

The online-only Google Docs & Spreadsheets (docs.google.com) and downloadable OpenOffice.org 2 (openoffice.org) are both free options for word processing and spreadsheet creation.

With Google's offering, users begin a new file or import an existing one. It supports popular Microsoft and Open Office file formats for documents (.doc and .odt) and spreadsheets (.xls and .ods). You can even create or import presentations (think PowerPoint) and collaborate with others online in real time. While generally you need to be online to use Google Docs & Spreadsheets, users of Google Gears (gears.google.com) can save documents (but not spreadsheets) to a hard drive to work offline, or sync files with a compatible cellphone (such as a BlackBerry).

Sun Microsystems' OpenOffice.org 2, which also runs on multiple operating systems, is an "open software" download that offers some of the functionality found in Microsoft Office, including word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, databases, graphics and much more.

Anti-virus, anti-spyware      
July 02, 2008
SOURCE: google 

Just as you wouldn't leave your home unlocked, your PC shouldn't be running without both anti-virus and anti-spyware tools to protect against malicious software.

Good choices include AVG Technologies' AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition (free.grisoft.com) for Windows XP and Windows Vista owners. More than 70 million people currently use the product, says Rick Carlson, AVG Technologies' managing director for North America, who says the free software helped to secure a foothold in the competitive anti-virus market dominated by Symantec and McAfee.

Already have an antivirus program you like? You can pick up free spyware detection tools including Microsoft's Windows Defender (windowsdefender.com) or Lavasoft's Ad-Aware 2008 Free (lavasoft.com). On the flip side, if you love your existing anti-spyware solution but need a free anti-virus program, consider Avira's AntiVir Personal (avira.com) and Alwil Software's Avast anti-virus Home Edition (avast.com).